The advice these alternative doctors dish out to their loved ones helps keep them healthy and happy without meds. If you like the idea of natural remedies, listen in.

Acupuncture is powerful medicine

Acupuncture is powerful medicine

"Even for friends who are generally healthy, I recommend acupuncture to help promote overall well-being. And I assure them: Only very rarely is it painful. Acupuncture can help address lingering issues such as menstrual cramps, back pain, and asthma. It can also lessen fatigue and increase energy by promoting and restoring the balance of energy in the body, called qi or chi. And I make sure to tell friends that, yes, the benefits are more than just a placebo. Scientific evidence as well as clinical experience strongly suggest that acupuncture has very real effects on the mind and the body, even though there's no consensus about how exactly it works. So go in without skepticism or fear." —Andrew Weil, M.D., founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and director of integrative health and healing at Miraval Resort

You don't have to live in organic panic

You don't have to live in organic panic

"The number-one question I get asked at parties is if you need to buy organic all the time. And I say no. That goes for the 'dirty dozen' list too. Rather than obsessing over whether the label on your apple says it's organic or not, try to buy food that's in season and grown locally. Local farmers who produce on a small scale are more likely to use sustainable practices, like avoiding pesticides and genetically modified seeds. They also tend to go above and beyond the organic label by practicing biodiversity, crop rotation, and maintaining a low carbon footprint. All that adds up to more nutrient-dense soil that translates into healthier, tastier food." —Daphne Miller, M.D., practicing family physician in San Francisco and author of Farmacology: What Innovative Family Farming Can Teach Us About Health and Healing